A Taste of Butterscotch
by angrysockpuppetnoises
Summary: When the other half of their ragtag group arrives in Argus, JNR is overjoyed. But there's one soul-shared person Nora in particular can't wait to spend some time with.


**NOTE:** The way I based their calendar years was due to Oz stating 'on this day, nearly eighty years ago' back in v1. I assumed v1-3 was 'Post Great War 79', and therefore v6, after the timeskip of approximately two years, they'd be in the 81st year. And 'Butterscotch' is from the brotp shipname of Nora/Ozpin.

* * *

 _Sunday, December 9th, PGW81, Cotta-Arc Household, 06:17 Hours._

"Waaaaaaake up sleepybutt!~" Nora sang out, pulling open the curtains with a flourish. Soft sunlight streamed through the windows, illuminating both the cityscape of Argus and the resting form of Oscar Pine. He'd passed out on the couch the night prior after Team RWBY had returned from their failed expedition at the military base, and no one had had the heart to move him. Well, except for Nora, who had graciously added a pillow and blanket to the young boy.

With a groan (as was common for those who interacted with Nora), Oscar sat up and rubbed his eyes, squinting at the onslaught of sun. "What time is it?" he asked, turning away from the windows and addressing Ren, who was sat on the adjacent couch.

"It's moooooorning!" Nora answered for him, bouncing around the room. "It's morning, it's morning, it's mooooorning!"

"She does this when she's excited," Ren explained, taking a sip from the teacup he held. Oscar gave a tired nod, glancing around the room to see that yes, indeed, no one else was awake yet. "Miss Terra Cotta already left for work, and Nora and I volunteered to make breakfast," Ren continued when he saw Oscar's puzzled look. He stood and sat his cup back on the saucer before making his way to the kitchen, where Nora was enthusiastically waving him over.

"You should totally go take a shower since no one else is up yet," Nora called over her shoulder. "It'll be great. Tons of hot water and we already threw your bag in the bathroom!"

Ren leaned out of the kitchen. "We didn't actually _throw_ your bag."

"Plus!" Nora said, grabbing his arm and pulling Ren back in the kitchen, "we should have everything ready by then! Ren's making pancakes and I've got the eggs and fruit since we know Ruby likes strawberries and I think there's fish for Blake -fish is totally a breakfast food but pancakes are better- AND we'll have drinks ready by then! I know Weiss likes coffee -"

"Nora, don't overload him," Ren chastited. Oscar smiled to himself as he stood up to make his way to the downstairs bathroom. Nora's energy was always warm and inviting, if a bit much at times. The girl had no filter, but everything she said came from a place of kindness. Something about her never failed to make Oscar smile.

* * *

 _06:48 Hours._

"Aww, you look good!" Nora chirped, peeking out from around the kitchen corner as Oscar came out of the bathroom around half an hour later. He stopped dead in his tracks and blushed scarlet, ducking his head.

"Nora, you're embarrassing him," Ren stated, a slight hint of amusement hidden in his tone. Nora waved him off with a 'pffft' and ducked back into the kitchen, more preoccupied with a timer that had just gone off. Oscar made his way over to the couch, running a hand across the back of his slightly-wet head in chagrin.

"Yeah, no kidding," he muttered, taking a seat next to Ren. He got a mere smile in return from Ren, who had his cup from earlier in his hands and was now pleasantly sipping from it. On the table, the empty space had been replaced with a large steaming kettleful of water, with several empty cups and a myriad of teabags and strainers for the loose coffee and the -

"Is that hot chocolate?" Oscar asked, hope coloring his voice.

"Yep!" Nora called out, rounding the corner with a smile, dusting her hands off on her skirt. "I remembered Oz loved it so we thought you might too!"

Ren caught Oscar's frown as Nora flitted about the table, prepping him a cup of the cacao-y goodness. "Is something wrong?"

"It's just. . . I know we're gonna be the same person, in the end, but do I have to like everything he does? Cocoa - it was a treat my aunt and I shared a few times per winter, not something to - to _predict_ about me." Oscar accepted the cup from Nora with a grimace, staring down into the steam with a sigh.

"Who knows?" Nora asked to the void, flouncing back to the kitchen. "Maybe if you hated it, you'd've never've _been_ him. And then you'd never've met _us_! That'd be a _tragedy_!" By the end of her little spiel, Nora's voice had raised in octave and was bordering on hysteria. "I wouldn't've met my little boy!"

"Nora, he's not your son," Ren said, sounding like he'd had _that_ talk a thousand times. Meanwhile, Oscar's expression had changed from beleaguered to downright alarmed.

"Of _course_ he's not," Nora said, coming back out from the kitchen for the second and final time, carrying a large platter boasting, as stated, an assortment of plates, breakfast, and all the trimmings. "But with the way everyone's been looking at him -or not at all, _Qrow_ \- he needs some cheer! And we've been friends with both of him for years!" Nora set the platter down with a huge smile, before staring accusingly at Ren and crossing her arms. "And if he's even half the man is that Oz was -and let's face it, he kinda is, he's barely taller than _me_ \- he's a good guy!"

"You may have a point there," Ren allowed with a teasing smile, bending forward to snag some pancakes for himself. "Therefore, Oscar, you should like the hot chocolate. Nora tried her best to get it right from memory."

Oscar, in too much shock to take a drink, stared in disbelief at Nora as she loaded up a plate with food for him. "You - I didn't realize you were _friends_ with Professor Ozpin."

"Oh, we totally were!" Nora said, placing the plate in front of Oscar before filling up her own. Oscar blinked in shock at the stack of cakes she was making. "We met him through Glynda and the friendship just snowballed from there!"

"Professor Glynda Goodwitch was the combat instructor and Deputy Headmistress under Professor Ozpin," Ren explained as Nora sat down on Oscar's left side, carefully balancing the plate in her lap. "Nora ended up getting Team JNPR into a _lot_ of trouble across our time at Beacon. We eventually were unable to bail ourselves out of it, and attracted the attention of Professor Ozpin himself."

"They were team-building exercises!" Nora defended, pausing in her manic shovelling of pancakes into her mouth. "So _what_ if a few explosions happened? No one got _seriously_ hurt!"

Oscar couldn't help but smile at Nora's description of her antics. It all felt so familiar. . . Oscar sighed and took a sip from the chocolate. Of course it was perfect.

"And that's why I was so excited to see you two!" Nora said, jerking Oscar out of his introspection. He looked up at her, blinking in confusion. He hadn't followed the conversation at all. "One friend wasn't dead, and instead was just in a cute new body! That meant that that there was _twice_ the friendship in one person!"

"You. . . wanted to be friends with me?"

"Of course we did," Ren said, effortlessly interjecting himself into the conversation to save Oscar from Nora's offended look. "While you and Professor Ozpin may become the same person in the future, it can't hurt us to get to know _you_."

"And why wouldn't we want to? You're cute, you're sweet, you're kind, you like pancakes, and you're technically already my friend! Perfect setup for friendship!" Nora paused, blinked, and then stared at Oscar with uncharacteristic seriousness. "You _do_ like them, right?"

"Uh, yes?" Oscar asked, too overcome with emotion to really answer properly.

"Then eat them!" Nora cried, throwing her hands up in the air, which were thankfully fork-and-knife-free. "You're still a growing boy!"

Oscar huffed in embarrassment and looked down at his plate, which indeed, did look delicious. Ren knew what he was doing. Oscar took a forkful of pancake before making a slight face. Okay, did he?

"What's wrong now?" Nora asked, now actually sounding offended.

"They're. . . a lot thicker than I'm used to," Oscar said, confusion tainting his tone. "They're good, don't get me wrong - I just might not be able to eat as many as you've given me." Oscar gestured to the _very_ full plate Nora had made him, which also consisted of scrambled eggs and an assortment of fruit. "And I'm not _that_ much of a kid!"

"That's quitter talk," Nora huffed out, stabbing a pancake and sliding it off his plate and onto her own, miraculously managing to not make a mess. "And cakey pancakes are the best. More pancake per. . . well, cake!"

"To be fair, you are about five years younger than us," Ren said, smiling lightly as Oscar turned to him with a betrayed glare. "And if we're going out today to gather information and potentially enter the military base, we _will_ need our energy about us."

"I can carry him if he gets tired." Nora threw in her two cents, perking up to stare over Oscar's head at Ren. "I've got enough energy for all of us!~"

 _At this point, I can't tell if she's making fun of me or not_ , Oscar thought to himself, shaking his head as he ate more breakfast. The eggs were pretty darn good, too.

"Speaaaaking of all of us," Nora said a few moments later, glancing over at Ren. "Where _is_ Oz? I miss him. I figured he just didn't wanna come out to all the strangers yesterday, which is completely understandable -."

Oscar made a face and cut Nora off. "He's, uh, resting. I don't want to talk about it."

Nora pouted, while Ren laid a gentle hand on Oscar's shoulder. "That's fine. If he can hear us, do tell him Nora wants to say 'hello'. Am I right to assume something negative happened during your travels to Argus?"

"Yeah. And I'll do that." Oscar shoved another forkful of pancake into his mouth to avoid answering any more questions.

"I understand the feeling of not wanting to talk," Ren said, his voice low, cautious. Oscar looked up, shocked to see a comforting smile instead of seriousness. "If he doesn't want to interact, that's okay. But if _you_ ever need us, Oscar, Nora and I are here. I won't ask any more questions. It took me _weeks_ after Kuroyuri to even introduce myself to Nora."

"Yeah, but I talked enough for both of us!" Nora said, peppy as ever. She sat her plate down on the low table and wrapped her right arm around Oscar in a hug. "And we've got your back! No more negativity in this place! Just fun, pancakes, and hope!"

A small pang ran through Oscar's heart, one he wasn't sure where it came from.

"Thanks, you guys," he said, dropping his fork onto his plate. "I - it means a lot." Oscar stared at his hands, looking down through the dust motes from the sunlight and the pain of memories that weren't even his yet.

Nora wasted no time in wrapping up their youngest, yet eldest, member in a bone crushing hug. "Don't mention it! Heck, if all goes well -and even if it doesn't- we can go out for ice cream! Ren and I found this darling little place near the theatre we saw on the way up here!"

Ren merely smiled and scooted closer to Oscar, giving him his own version of a hug that had just enough personal space that could be shortened any time Oscar wished. Evidently, Oscar wished to, seeing as he leaned into Ren and closed his eyes, taking slow, deep breaths.

The trio stayed there for a short while, before Nora separated the hug and pushed Oscar's half-full plate back at him. "Eat," she said, tone calmer than he'd ever heard from her. "You'll feel better."

Oscar hadn't realized he'd been that obvious.

"Plus, no one likes cold food, especially when they need to eat to grow big and strong!"

Okay, she was _absolutely_ teasing him now. Ren's light laughter only sold it more.


End file.
